Sussex Police welcomes drop in burglary statistics

Senior police officers have welcomed a ‘pleasing’ 11 per cent reduction in burglaries across Sussex in 2015, compared with the previous year.

The force said there were 290 fewer victims of burglaries in their homes and 640 fewer victims of other burglaries at businesses, garages and outbuildings.

Detective chief inspector Emma Heater, lead for Operation Magpie, Sussex Police’s commitment to tackling burglary in homes, said: “Our priority of preventing burglaries is matched by our hard work in targeting criminals, leading to substantial sentences for those who have burgled homes and businesses.

“The reductions already seen in the past year are very pleasing but we will not be complacent.

“We will develop our service, continue to target prolific burglars, make the public aware and with support of partners, including Neighbourhood Watch achieve greater reductions in the future.”

Sussex Police detailed a number of cases where burglars were jailed last year.

They include 28-year-old Sutton man Stephen Moorhouse, who was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment in October after pleading guilty to conspiracy to burgle and robbery. This case came after he was charged for his part in a series of burglaries in the Billinghurst area.

Aiden O’Brien-Daniels, 20, from London, was jailed for six years in October for a string of offences in Hastings and Bexhill that included burglary, robbery, handling stolen keys and aggravated taking of a vehicle without consent.

Jamie Ernest Robert Taylor, 25, of Tunbridge Wells, who targeted a Bexhill victim more than once, was sentenced in October to four years, including time for previous offences.

Terry Hughes, 39, was jailed for three years after police were able to link his dirty boots to the door he kicked in in Marine Parade, Brighton, in April. The local man, who was stopped on suspicion of a drugs offence shortly afterwards, pleaded guilty to the burglary after police provided the forensic evidence, found stolen items at his home and CCTV of him approaching the home.

Paul Yardley, 29, who had 22 previous convictions for burglary, was caught in the act when neighbours alerted a dog handler to a burglary in High Street, Findon. He was jailed for four years and eight months in March.

James Cable, 32, was located sleeping in his car in Bognor three days after burgling a house in Billingshurst while the occupants slept. In December he was sentenced to four years after stolen items were found in his possession.

A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: “Investigators are working together with forensic officers and neighbourhood teams to pursue lines of enquiry, recover property and bring persistent offenders to justice.

“Across Sussex there has been a significant reduction in the number of offences reported in the last few years and this has been down to a great deal of preventative work carried out in neighbourhoods and by working closely with partners to manage those most at risk of re-offending.

“By closely monitoring these people, with the support of probation and youth offending, police can respond swiftly when they offend and take a robust appoach.

“Our ethos is to target the offender not the offence; monitoring suspects and restricting their ability to further offend through robust interventions.

“We also work closely with drugs services, ensuring that offenders who are vulnerable due to their lifestyle have every opporunity to address their drug addictions and turn away from crime.”

DCI Heater said: “We will continue to prioritise our response to burglary and to focus on catching the criminals who commit them.

“A lot of reduction has been achieved by notable successes in catching and convicting prolific offenders. We will pursue offenders using every means possible to bring them to justice.

“I’m certain that by working with the public and partners in this way will help us continue to drive down burglary.”

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